Switch between different languages by setting the proofing language

If you create documents in several Latin-based languages, such as English, French, and German, and quickly switch between the languages while working, setting the proofing language of text as you type lets you check the spelling of text in the languages that you are using when you are done creating the document.

If you want to type in a non-Latin-based language, such as Arabic or Chinese, or want to use the language keyboard layout for each Latin-based language, you can switch the keyboard layout with the Language bar. For more information, see Switch between different languages by using the Language bar.

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• Access
• Excel
• InfoPath
• OneNote
• Outlook
• PowerPoint
• Publisher
• Visio
• Word
• Learn More

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Access

If you are using a keyboard layout that contains all the characters that you need, or if you know the ASCII codes for the special characters that are not in the keyboard layout, you can type the text that you want. To set the language in Access, you can type the text that you want, select it, and then set its proofing language. To check the spelling, you can switch the dictionary to that language.

1. Open an Access database.
2. Start typing.

 Note    To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

Change a database language to match the language of the database records and fields

 Important    The editing language applies to the entire database and cannot be defined for individual records or fields. For more information about checking spelling in a different language, see Check spelling and grammar in a different language.

If you want to change the language of a database to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Open an Access database.
2. Click the File tab.
3. Under Help, click Options.
4. Click Language.
5. In the Set the Office Language Preferences dialog box, in the Editing Language list, select the editing language, and then click Set as Default.

 Important    This changes the default editing language for all the Microsoft Office programs.

6. When you next check the database's spelling by clicking Spelling on the Home tab, you can change the dictionary language in the Spelling dialog box, and then check the database's records for each language that is contained in the database. You need to repeat this step for each language in the database.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

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Excel

 Important    The editing language applies to the entire workbook and cannot be defined for individual worksheets or cells. For more information about checking spelling in a different language, see Check spelling and grammar in a different language.

To set the language in Excel, type in the language that you want to use and then, during the spell-check process, you can click Dictionary Language to switch the dictionary to that language.

1. Open the Excel workbook.
2. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

Change the dictionary language to match the language of the worksheet text

To change the language of a workbook to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Open an Excel workbook.
2. Click the File tab.
3. Under Help, click Options.
4. Click Language.
5. In the Set the Office Language Preferences dialog box, in the Editing Language list, select the editing language, and then click Set as Default.

 Important    This changes the default editing language for all the Microsoft Office programs.

6. When you next check the workbook’s spelling by clicking Spelling on the Home tab, you can change the dictionary language in the Spelling dialog box, and then check the workbook for each language that is contained in it. You need to repeat this step for each language in the workbook.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

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InfoPath

InfoPath Designer

 Important    In the InfoPath Designer, Set Proofing Language applies to the current form view. Forms with multiple views can have different proofing languages for each view. The proofing language applies to the entire view. All text in the view is marked as the same language.

To change the language of a form, do the following:

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click the arrow under Spelling, and then click Set Proofing Language .
2. In the Language dialog box, click the language that you want.
3. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

4. Alternately, check the spelling.

 Notes 

• For more information about checking spelling or grammar in another language, see Check spelling and grammar in a different language.
• You may need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

InfoPath Editor

 Important    In InfoPath Editor, Set Proofing Language applies to the entire form. The proofing language applies to the entire view. All text in the view is marked as the same language.

To check the spelling in a form, do the following:

1. On the Home tab, click the arrow under Spelling, and then click Set Proofing Language .
2. In the Language dialog box, click the language that you want.
3. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

4. Alternately, check the spelling.

 Notes 

• For more information about checking spelling or grammar in another language, see Check spelling and grammar in a different language.
• You may need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

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OneNote

To change the language of a notebook to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Place you cursor in the file where you want to start typing text in a different language. Or, if you have already typed the text, select the text.
2. On the Review tab, in the Language group, click Language, and then click Set Proofing Language.
3. In the Editing Language pane, select the language that you want.
4. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

5. To switch back to the original language, or to switch to a different language, repeat Steps 1-3. In Step 3, choose the next language.
6. Alternately, check the spelling.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

 Note    Video is silent.

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Outlook

To change the language of an e-mail message to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Place your cursor in the e-mail message where you want to start typing text in a different language or, if you have already typed the text, select the text.
2. On the Review tab, in the Language group, click the arrow under Language, and then click Set Proofing Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, select the language that you want.
4. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

5. To switch back to the original language, or to switch to a different language, repeat Steps 1-3. In Step 3, choose the next language.
6. Alternately, check the spelling and grammar.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

 Note    Video is silent.

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PowerPoint

To change the language of a slide to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Place your cursor in the file where you want to start typing text in a different language or, if you have already typed the text, select the text.
2. On the Review tab, in the Language group, click the arrow under Language, and then click Set Proofing Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, select the language that you want to use.
4. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

5. To switch back to the original language, or to switch to a different language, repeat Steps 1-3. In Step 3, choose the next language.
6. Optionally, check the spelling and grammar.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

 Note    Video is silent.

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Publisher

To change the language of a publication to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Place your cursor in the file where you want to start typing text in a different language or, if you have already typed the text, select the text.
2. On the Review tab, click the arrow under Language, and then click Set Proofing Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, select the language that you want.
4. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

5. To switch back to the original language, or to switch to a different language, repeat Steps 1-3. In Step 3, choose the next language.
6. Alternately, check the spelling.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

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Visio

To change the language of a diagram to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Place your cursor in the file where you want to start typing text in a different language or, if you have already typed the text, select the text.
2. On the Review tab, in the Language group, click Set Proofing Language.
3. In the Language dialog box, select the language that you want.
4. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

5. To switch back to the original language, or to switch to a different language, repeat Steps 1-3. In Step 3, choose the next language.
6. Optionally, check the spelling.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

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Word

To change the language of a document to check the spelling, do the following:

1. Place your cursor in the file where you want to start typing text in a different language or, if you have already typed the text, select the text.
2. On the Review tab, in the Language group, click Set Proofing Language.
3. In the Language dialog box, select the language that you want.
4. Start typing.

 Notes 

To type characters, such as the umlaut in German (ö), the tilde in Spanish (ñ), the cedilla in Turkish (Ç), or even a symbol, such as a check mark, do one of the following:

• Use the keyboard shortcut. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
• Press and hold down ALT while typing the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (ASCII: Code representing characters in the English language as numbers. Each character is assigned a number from 0 to 127. Most computers use ASCII to represent text and to transfer data from one computer to another.) character code. For a list of the ASCII codes, see Insert ¢, £, ¥, ®, and other characters not on the keyboard.

5. To switch back to the original language, or to switch to a different language, repeat Steps 1-3. In Step 3, choose the next language.
6. Alternately, check the spelling and grammar.

 Note    You might need a language pack if your version of Office 2010 does not provide proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, for the language that you want to use. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.

 Note    Video is silent.

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Learn More

• To change the default language for all Microsoft Office programs, see Change the default language for Office programs.
• To check spelling and grammar in another language, see Check spelling and grammar in a different language.
• If the proofing tools, such as the spelling checker, are not available for the language that you want, you might need a Microsoft Office language pack. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack.
• If you want to change the display or Help language used in Microsoft Office 2010, see Set the editing, display, or Help language preferences.